Bucharest philharmonic orchestra schedules concerts in memory of King Michael

The George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra, hosted at the iconic Romanian Athenaeum in Bucharest, has scheduled two concerts in the memory of Romania’s King Michael, who died on December 5.

The concerts are scheduled for December 7 and December 8. The orchestra will perform the Concerto for Violin, Cello and Orchestra by Johannes Brahms and the Requiem by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The latter will be the main musical funeral moment, marking the death of Romania’s last king.

The philharmonic said it was changing its usual programming because “through its history and cultural mission, our institution is closely connected to the Royal House of Romania.” The concerts are also “a sign of praise and out of the moral duty to pay homage and honor the memory of the huge personality of the last king of the Romanians.”

King Michael I, Romania’s last sovereign, died at his private residence in Switzerland. He was 96.

Michael I was king of Romania from 1927 until 1930 and then from 1940 until December 1947, when the communist regime forced him to abdicate and leave the country.